Do I have a Gas Leak on my keg beer system?

There are 3 types of gas used in beer dispense, they are Air, Mixed Gas and Co2. These gases are used on separate systems and are not connected to each other. These gases are stored within or near the cellar. See Safety pages for more information. If you suspect you have a major gas leak ventilate the cellar and warn staff to keep out of the cellar. Contact your local technician immediately.

If you suspect you may have a small gas leak, try the following .If you have cellar cooling, which is very noisy, switch it off. Make sure there are no keg couplers or gas pumps switched on that are not in use. If you have been cleaning ensure the cleaning Gas pump is switched off and that any, that are connected to the cleaning main have their gases turned off.

Listen for any hissing sounds. Start at the gas cylinders. Make sure the gas bottle connections are tight. If they are tight and you can hear or feel gas escaping, it may be the seals on the connections are worn or lost. If you have been instructed by Tech Services on how to change these washers replace them. If not call out Tech Services.

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Next, make sure that the keg couplers are fitted correctly to the kegs. Once again listen out for hissing. Make sure all gas fittings on couplers are in good condition and tight .If they are and you can still feel or hear gas escaping you may have a faulty keg. If the keg is leaking gas, change to a new one and inform your Tech services.

Finally when changing a gas cylinder, make sure it is full. Quite often you can replace an empty cylinder with another empty one.

To check on gas usage, another good tip is to write in chalk on the gas bottle the day it was put on service. That way you can keep track. Finally, remember do not tamper with any equipment, if you suspect something is damaged or not working, call your local Technical Services.

5 COMMENTS

I normally switch that gas with the suspected leak off at the bottle, if the needle on the contents valve starts to fall then you know there’s a leak. I then switch the gas to each beer off one at a time until the needle stops falling, that way I can isolate the product until it is repaired.

Some of the technicians foam up washing up liquid and put the foam on the gas fittings… if there’s a leak you can see it bubbling. The is also a gas leak detector spray that you can buy which is more effective.

I have been reading through this article and I’m a little bit worried with some of the suggests to check for a leak. CO2 is highly dangerous and can cause death if there is to much inhaled. Co2 is heavier than air, odourless and colourless, so it’s hard to detect. I would not recommend standing in the cellar listening for a hissing noise, you could become unconscious where you would fall to the floor where CO2 has displaced the air. If you have to check for a gas leak you will need make sure the area is fully ventilated so there is less chance of asphyxiation and air has been diluted.

See Safety pages for more information. If you suspect you have a major gas leak ventilate the cellar and warn staff to keep out of the cellar. Contact your local technician immediately.

Hi Matt, Thank you for your input. We at “Inn Doctor” appreciate the dangers of CO2 within the beer cellar. The above quote is taken from the article you refer to and as you can see we do suggest that the cellar is fully ventilated if there is any possibility of a major CO2 gas leak. What we descibe is a method used by technicians as a first approach in detecting a small gas leak. Such advice is commonly given as a guide to landlords by technicians and also by some brewers customer service providers by way of diagnosis via the telephone. The universal proviso being that major gas leaks should in all instances be dealt with by a trained technician. Cheers.

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